Sensory Deprivation (Sequel to Friends in Unlikely Places)
by kittgirl23
Summary: New code has intertwined itself within Kitt's core program. And the only one who can help, has also lost his mind. "The lifeline was cut and Kitt's world went dark again. Stand-by mode however did not initiate, he could not rest and he was left in the dark, no sounds, no input, deaf, alone..."
1. For there is no greater fear

Sensory Deprivation (Sequel to Friends in Unlikely Places) Note: The story contains references to the episode "Killer K.I.T.T.", if you're not familiar with the episode you might have some trouble understanding some paragraphs.Chapter 1 – For there is no greater fear, then to lose one's self

It was a week after his disappearance. Kitt was officially on "sick leave", which in itself was strange –computers didn't usually get sick leave. After the semi had pulled into Foundation headquarters, Bonnie had promptly informed Devon and the board that Kitt had been through a lot and she needed to figure out how the program re-writes would affect him. Michael had been supportive of Bonnie's request and (surprisingly) so had the board. Bonnie walked through the early morning mist that surrounded the mansion and breathed in the fresh air. A steaming cup of coffee warmed her hands and she took a minute to appreciate the beauty of the Foundation's immaculate garden. Even through the serenity of the early morning and the feeling of joy that she still had over finding Kitt, she couldn't help but feel a small nagging feeling of dread. She had let Kitt rest and recharge for two days after he had returned to them. After that she had gently started to go through his ordeal, mainly by allowing the AI to talk about it. The subprograms had finished re-writing themselves. New code was engraved within Kitt's main program. For the most part, it didn't seem to be doing anything. Kitt hadn't had any more "slips" and he had aced all of Bonnie's tests. Still, Bonnie was uneasy. Giving herself a mental shake Bonnie resumed her walk towards the garage. Kitt had probably scanned her already and was wondering why she had stopped. She mentally prepared herself for yet another day of finding nothing wrong, but knowing that something was.

Kitt came online with a start. His scanner flashed fast a couple of times and it took him over a second to focus. For a computer that was nearly an eternity! He was surprised to find Bonnie standing in front of him! He hadn't seen her come in! A slip! "Bonnie!" He sounded surprised and tried to run a self-diagnostic. The diagnostic ran for 78% then stopped and started over, then it ran for 65% before stopping and starting over, then 43%. He tried to stop it –couldn't. "Bonnie?!" Frightened Bonnie dropped her coffee, which splattered onto the garage's clean floor. A thick support cable snaked from underneath Kitt's hood and connected him to the Foundation's computers. Bonnie watched the numbers before manually disengaging the diagnostic. The program didn't fight her and shut down. Turning, she faced Kitt, "What happened?" Focusing on the comfort of the support cable, Kitt transferred most of his most basic support functions away from himself and to the Foundation's computers. He found he didn't trust himself. "I didn't see you come in. I couldn't stop the diagnostic. Bonnie, what's wrong with me?" Turning back to the computer, Bonnie acknowledged the transfer of Kitt's life support (for the lack of a better word), stood up and walked to the AI, "God, I wish I knew Kitt. I'm sure it has to do with the new programs, but I've yet to figure out how to counteract it."

"Michael is coming." Kitt was slightly relieved to find he could still tell when his partner was approaching. "Wow, what happened here?" Michael motioned to the spilt coffee. "Kitt had an attack of some kind. I was able to completely walk in on him, than he was unable to turn off his self-diagnostic." Michael walked to Kitt and ran his hand over the MBS, "You ok, buddy?" "I do not think so, Michael. I find this quite unsettling. It feels like I'm loosing my mind." Glancing at Bonnie, she only shook her head slightly he got the hint, "Don't worry, Kitt. Slips happen to the best of us…" "They shouldn't happen to me! Also that diagnostic –it is a scary feeling not being in charge of one's self." Michael didn't know how to respond to that.

"Kitt, I'm going to lock most of your basic functions with the Foundation's computers. You will essentially be on life-support." Michael glanced up sharply at that, "Bonnie can I see you for a sec?" Furrowing her brow, Bonnie followed Michael into the quickly warming California morning. "What did you mean by that, Bon? In layman's terms it just sounded like you were putting Kitt into ICU?" Bonnie responded by fishing out her cell phone. "It's not that bad -yet. I'm just making sure that I now control all the functions that Kitt needs to remain sentient. He normally runs those automatically, but with that errant code, I can't trust him. I'm just taking a precaution that's all. Now, sorry Michael, but I have to make a phone call."

He shouldn't be eavesdropping he knew that, but this concerned him. Kitt had to admit he was frightened. Bonnie didn't trust him to maintain his sanity, he didn't blame her. He didn't trust his sanity either. Checking that the connection with the support cable was operating at peak efficiency, Kitt powered down, hoping that Bonnie would figure out a cure.

"Hello?" A gruff male voice answered Bonnie's call. She was calling long distance and hoped that the number she had pulled up was the correct one. "Good evening, is this Dr. Marcus?" A long silence followed and the gruff voice answered the question with a question, "Who wants to know?" Bonnie paused. She had never met Thomas Marcus. He had been on the team of programmers who had originally programmed the delicate code that made up Kitt. The man's résumé didn't fit on 6 pages and his list of accomplishments seemed to go on forever. He was also the only one of the original team of Kitt's programmers who was still alive and Bonnie's only hope. She had to admit that she was stumped. She hadn't been on the original team; she hadn't seen the original schematics. Oh, she had the copies all right, but if she had to do, what she was dreadfully afraid of, she didn't want the copies, something might have been unintentionally left out. She couldn't risk it. If she had to reprogram Kitt from the ground up, she had to have someone who had already done it once. Also, she was dreadfully aware that she might not be able to reprogram Kitt fully… Would Kitt still be Kitt when she was finished –she didn't know. "This is Dr. Bonnie Barstow calling from the Foundation for Law and Government. It is a pleasure to speak with you Dr. Marcus…" The gruff voice cut in, "I am NOT Dr. Marcus. What is your business with the doctor, Ms Barstow?" Bonnie noticed that the speaker seemed to have deliberately dropped her own title and replaced it. "I need to speak to the doctor on a project he did in the '80's. It is a matter of life and death." The voice on the other end went silent. "The doctor is not to be disturbed. No exceptions." The line was cut. Bonnie almost dialled again, and then decided against it. She had to do some research first. She returned to the garage and found Kitt in recharge. The power-feed fluctuated between 99,97-99,99%. Normal. A message from about five minutes ago flashed on her IM: "Scared." She glanced at the AI and the dark scanner. " _Yeah, me too._ " She thought quietly.

In Georgia James hung up on that Barstow woman. The mansion rivalled the Foundation and James was the butler. He was also the nurse and the bodyguard. And he took his job really seriously. "Who was that, James?" The sound of the electronic wheelchair softened the bodyguard's scowl and he turned to his boss, "Just some lady from some Foundation. Nothing to worry about." The elderly man in the wheelchair smiled briefly then suddenly looked confused, "Did the phone just ring, James?" The larger man sighed, "Yes sir, it was nothing. Shall we have dinner and your meds?" The older man straightened. "Yes James, lets."

Bonnie settled down at her computer. She set the machine to search for any resent information about Dr. Thomas Marcus. She did not have to wait long. Within minutes she had determined that the doctor hadn't published anything for a long time. She found out his home address and a list of employees –namely one, stated as a butler. Probably the man she had spoken too. The doctor seemed to have retired some years ago. She turned away from the Internet and logged onto the Foundation's own Intranet. She attempted to locate the doctor's medical records only to find them classified at a level so high it was even beyond her.

The sound of a turbine engine firing up directly behind her snapped her back to reality. She moved by shear reflex alone and vaulted out of the way just barely before the prow of the Knight Two Thousand smashed into the main computer relays directly where Bonnie had sat just a second ago. The engine died with a choke. Alarms sounded and smoke furrowed out from underneath Kitt's prow. Technicians came running and so did Devon. "Bonnie! What happened?!" Shaken, Bonnie dusted herself off, "I don't know, I was just sitting at the computer and suddenly Kitt just blew into me!" She took a step towards the Pontiac. Devon restrained her, "Be careful, Bonnie." She shook him off. "Kitt? Kitt, answer me?" The scanner was dark and the artificial intelligence didn't respond. "He's in stand-by mode. He doesn't know he's moved!" "You and you," Bonnie called out orders motioning to two of the techs, "give me a hand." She had no trouble opening Kitt's door and manually shifting the transmission into neutral. The touch of Bonnie's hands on the door and the gearshift brought Kitt online.

He couldn't scan. No error messages were coming in, he just couldn't scan. "Bonnie?" "Kitt, listen to me. Do exactly as I say. Don't shift and don't fire the engine!" Direct commands…from his head technician…must obey…cut power from the transmission…can't…no power there…can't read any power…engaging engine…NO…mustn't…can't…no power…no feeling… just sound… " _Bonnie! Help…_ "

"There!" The two techs and Bonnie succeeded in pushing Kitt back onto a lift. Hydraulics hissed as Bonnie lifted the Trans Am about a foot into the air. "Cut the power from this support cable and get me another one here! I'm going to remove this one, it's damaged." Techs scurried to follow her orders. She heard the power being cut from the support cable and lifted the hood. The cable had partly torn off; taking with it several much needed parts of the engine. Within two minutes she had another cable installed and manually disconnected the small DVD-type box that housed Kitt from all parts of his car-body. Kitt had remained silent the entire time.

" _Bonnie? Bonnie?! What is going on? No! Why are you disconnecting me!_ " His screams were deafening to himself but he got no reply. He still didn't feel any power, but he did feel as his ways of controlling his body where stripped from him one by one. Brakes, transmission, engine control, Internet, Michael's comlink… The only link that remained open was the link with the Foundation's mainframe. He could just barely feel it. Then that feeling started slipping away. He knew it was there, but suddenly he didn't know what it was. No input…no data…send 0%…receive 0,0001%…

She hated doing this to him. Taking away his ability to move and in a sense see. But it was necessary, to protect the people around him. Bonnie was sure that Kitt didn't know that he had almost killed her. Something was terribly wrong with the AI. She comforted herself on the act that Kitt had access to the mainframe and so wouldn't be completely shut away from the world. She didn't know it, but she was wrong.


	2. Grasping at straws

Chapter 2: Grasping at straws

" _Clearance granted._ " Bonnie allowed herself a small grin. At least Dr. Marcus' medical records weren't classified over Devon's authority. The older man sat down next to her and skimmed the summery. "Good Lord." Devon breathed. Bonnie felt her spirits plummet. She glanced at Devon and both read the each other's expression. Bonnie had confessed to Devon, that she couldn't help Kitt without outside help – mainly the help of an individual who had originally written the program for the Knight Two Thousand. After all these years, there was only one person left – and that one person was Dr. Thomas Marcus -their final hope. The report before the two long time co-workers and friends spoke its dire truth in the final diagnosis –Alzheimer's disease. The man might be alive, but would he still remember the delicate information that was needed to help Kitt?

Michael glanced up from the computer. These days he had taken over some of the paperwork off of Devon's back. Both of them were getting on in years, but Michael was not yet ready to transfer the torch of agent (and partnership with Kitt) over to another person. He saw Bonnie in the doorway and didn't like the look on her face. She was holding a computer pad and was keeping one eye on it, no doubt monitoring Kitt. Michael had heard about the incident in the garage and had immediately tried to go over there only to find the door of the garage firmly locked. There had been a barely readable note on it –written in Bonnie's hurried handwriting stating plainly "Danger –off-limits to all!" He had gotten through to her on the intercom, only to be told to wait and she'd get in touch. In the old days Michael wouldn't have stood for it and would probably have found a way in, but time had taught him not to mess with Bonnie. Now, looking at her, he was afraid of what he was going to find out.

"Let me get this straight. Kitt has to be reprogrammed from the top down, you think this "sub-program-rewriting thing" is a bug of some kind in the original programming that hasn't shown up until after all these years and the only person that possibly knows anything about it, might not remember ever even typing the word Kitt?" Bonnie only nodded. "Michael, I came into this project, when the main code –Kitt's core- had already been written. I have the blueprints –yes, but I can't just turn back the time! This isn't some Windows based operating system that I can 'take back to an earlier recovery point'! If I do that, the very essence that is Kitt could be lost. I can back up the memory files, but think about it! We wouldn't be upgrading Kitt, we'd be DOWN-grading him to what he was years ago." Michael thought about it for a while. "And you have to take him to Georgia?" Then he quickly corrected himself. "Of course you do, the guy's almost 90-years-old, in a wheelchair and not taking calls. Okay, I'll make the arrangements. Knight Air-1 will be ready within the hour and so will I." Bonnie closed her eyes. "Thanks, Michael. I'm going to go and try connecting with Kitt long enough to explain things to him."

There were files – _at least he thought they were programs…what was a program?…his internal encyclopaedia wasn't working_ \- just out of his reach. He thought there was a line – _a line?…what line?…a clothing line?…a fishing line?…a straight line?… a thick line?…words, just words_ \- No! A line to the outside, away from this darkness and insecurity! Kitt followed the line, forgetting all else. A link to the outside, a link to familiarity, to sanity. "k.i.t.t. r.e.s.p.o.n.d. p-c.a.l.l. . i.n.i.t.i.a.t.e." Kitt regained a moment of clarity. One of the first communication protocols he had learned had just been requested. He would be asked questions and he would send back a 0 for a no and a 1 for a yes. Kitt allowed a moment of relief, he was able to focus.

Bonnie: "p-c.a.l.l. 0/1 'Do you know who I am?"

Kitt: "p-c.a.l.l. =0" – _should I?_

Bonnie: "p-c.a.l.l. 0/1 'Can you feel mainframe connection?"

Kitt: "p-c.a.l.l. =0" – _what is a mainframe?_

Bonnie: "p-c.a.l.l. 0/1 'We need to leave here, get you help, future commands will follow, don't resist, copy?"

Kitt: "p-c.a.l.l. =1" – _leave where, where is here?_

Bonnie: "p-c.a.l.l. ="Don't worry, you'll be fine."

Kitt: - _I will?...what fine...how much..._

Bonnie: "end p-c.a.l. "

The lifeline was cut and Kitt's world went dark again. Stand-by mode however did not initiate, he could not rest and he was left in the dark, no sounds, no input, deaf, alone...

Bonnie closed the laptop with shaking hands. In those brief moments, she had gotten a brief but revealing look at just how bad Kitt's program was messed up. He didn't know who she was, didn't seem to understand much. The semi rumbled towards the airport and she glanced at the black car in front of her. She had debated with herself about disconnecting the AI totally from the car, but had decided against it. Kitt had always hated that feeling and Bonnie didn't want to upset the AI anymore. She had taken all the precautions: transmission and engine had been manually disabled –completely - as had the microjam. She was sure the Kitt wasn't coherent enough to really try anything, but that just made him all the more unpredictable. She just didn't want him trying to burst through the hull of the aircraft or microjam its controls.

The semi's airbrakes hissed as it stopped next to the jet-black stealth-type aircraft. It was Knight Industries' latest purchase and it seemed to almost reflect the stars. Using a winch, Kitt was gently hauled inside the aircraft. Devon, Michael and Bonnie followed. In ten minutes the plane was taxing for take-off. The plane was fast, but cross-country was still a ways off.


	3. In the mind of a genius

In the mind of a genius

" _Some Foundation..._ " Thomas Marcus awoke with a start. "Foundation..." he mumbled to himself. He fingered the delicate cashmere of his pyjamas and tried to force his foggy mind to come to terms with the familiar word. Pressing his hands to his temples, he cursed the sneaky Alzheimer's that had robbed him of his very self. Still, sometimes, usually during the night hours such as this, he had moments of clarity. "Yes! Of course, the Foundation for Law and Government. A lady, it must be Bonnie Barstow. Pulling on a heavy robe, he stiffly moved over to his wheelchair. Moving over to the other side of the room, he started powering up his Mac. " _Foundation – Wilton – Knight Industries – K.I.T.T.!_ " Experiencing a moment of joy about his sudden moment of memories, he drummed his fingers to an old show-tone he suddenly recalled as well. Lost for a moment in the music and the rhythm he watched as the Mac's screen settled onto the operating system. Then he couldn't recall why he had opened the computer to start with.

Michael covered Bonnie up with a blanket. Finally she had been able to rest, though it wouldn't be for long. There was a fairly strong tailwind and they were making good time. Devon was absorbed in yet another thick history book. He was looking forward to retiring next year. That made Michael a bit sad. It would be the end of an era to say. Leaning back in his chair, Michael's gaze settled onto his partner of many years. Against his will, his ever turning mind started to think about this latest development. Devon was retiring, Michael himself was feeling the years as well. As a computer, was Kitt getting "too old"? Bonnie had been constantly upgrading him… was that what had goon wrong –introducing too much new technology that had been originally incompatible with Kitt and then had been forcibly MADE compatible with him? He shook his head and absentmindedly fingered the comlink on his wrist. He had tried to talk with Kitt through it, but had only been rewarded with static. Still fingering his comlink, he fell asleep.

The Mac hummed in front of him. He must focus! "Sir?" He spun around, only to find James staring at him with a puzzled look on his face. "Yes, yes James! Perfect! Here, old friend, sit down and find something for me." The hugh bodyguard sat down in the uncomfortably small chair. He glanced suspiciously at his boss, who sometimes didn't even know his own name. The old man was animate and in control of himself and that was a refreshing change. "There's a word, James. I can't quite remember how to use this, but the word is 'kitt'. That call you got, it's important, I don't know how, but 'kitt' means something special." Delving into his boss' computer, James pulled out all the information about Kitt. For a moment, all was as it had been years ago, when he had come to work for Dr. Marcus, it was a refreshing change and he decided to enjoy it when it lasted.

"Good morning everybody and welcome to Atlanta Georgia. We'll be landing in a few minutes and I have already cleared us with the authorities." The captain of Knight Air-1 announced and within minutes the plane was taxing to a parking place. Bonnie glanced outside and was pleased to see that the semi she had asked for stood parked waiting outside. Flipping open her phone, she dialled another call.

James stared at the computer screen. He was fascinated. He knew his boss had been a brilliant mind in his own time, but to create a sentient computer?! He listened with fascination as his boss talked about the 'good old days' when they burned midnight oil to finalize the K.I. Two Thousand before Wilton died. "Redial that call you took earlier James, do it quick. I must talk to this Bonnie." Nodding the bodyguard only got the busy-tone. "She is on the phone, sir."

Kitt was again moved this time into the waiting semi. This was an ordinary truck and Bonnie was forced to strap Kitt down with strong cables. People weren't supposed to travel in these trucks but Bonnie refused to get into the limo with Michael and Devon. She would travel with Kitt, even if Kitt was un-aware of her. Just as she strapped herself into an incredibly uncomfortable makeshift bench in the cargo-hold of the semi, her phone rang. Her heart jumped as she saw the number; the number she had dialled earlier! "Hello." She answered. "This is Dr. Marcus' assistant speaking. Dr. Marcus wishes to speak with you. I must warn you however, the doctor's health is not what it used to be…" Before Bonnie had a chance to reply, she heard a scuffle at the other end of the line " _Give me that! Of all the nerve…_ " An agitated older man's voice came over the line. "Hello, this is Dr. Marcus speaking. Do I have the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Barstow herself?" Bonnie was taken back. This man certainly sounded sure of himself and completely coherent. "Umm, yes this is Dr. Barstow, it is a pleasure to speak with you, sir…" "Don't sir me, I no longer have the time for pleasantries. Since you work for FLAG, I suspect you know about my –shall we say- situation. Now, what can I do for you, Dr Barstow? I suspect it has something to do with a pet project of mine from some time ago." Smiling with relief, Bonnie decided that the man's disease was in check. "Yes, it has to do with the Knight Industries Two Thousand. Actually, we are on our way to you at the moment, eta. in about an hour. Do you want to talk then?"

 _Talk about what? Who was this person he was talking with?_ The phone dropped from the older man's hand and was rescued by James. _Kitt?_ He stared at the computer screen. All of the code made perfect sense to him. He understood what part of something made something else do something. _Kitt was coming… Kitt needed help…He understood…_ He pressed his finger onto the Down-key and skimmed the code. _Kitt was coming back…_

The call was disconnected. Bonnie stared at the dead phone in front of her. She glanced at her watch and saw that they now were under an hour away. She decided not to call back. Now they knew that she was coming. She'd talk with Dr Marcus when they got there. Flipping her laptop open, she once again delved into the code.


	4. To be or not to be was that the question

Sparks flashed simultaneously from underneath Kitt's hood and from Bonnie's laptop. Stifling a scream, Bonnie shoved the laptop away just barely avoiding from getting electrocuted. "Kitt!" Bonnie ran to the other support computer, which was hocked up to Kitt. This was protected from power-surges and so spoke volumes about what had just happened. The code that had scrolling on it, just a little while ago –Kitt's "heartbeat"- suddenly stopped. The curser blinked a few times then stated blankly:

/program terminated

The processor-power monitor showed the power-conception had gone up to 100% just before dropping to zero – essentially flat-line!

"No!" Bonnie breathed out. She felt the semi decelerated and turn left, the driver's voice echoed in the trailer "We have arrived at the destination." Bonnie only just heard him. This had never happened. In all the years that she had been Kitt's technician, the screen had never read program terminated. She had never had to completely and fully reboot Kitt from the ground up. Even in the worst cases the core program had been running, she had only re-initiated the AI matrix. To her horror she realized that she couldn't even recall HOW to do it. Running to her laptop, she tried to open it to access Kitt's schematics but the power surge had fried the hard drive. Normally unflappable, Bonnie stopped in front of Kitt and felt the terrifying felling of panic starting to settle into the pit of her stomach. _Was this the end?_


	5. Simply complex

The ramp of the rental-semi lowered and Devon and Michael entered to find Bonnie desperately hooking Kitt up to yet another computer. Bonnie's own laptop lay discarded on the floor of the trailer and a telltale whiff of smoke could be smelt inside. Michael's eyes widened. "Bonnie, what's going on?" Bonnie didn't answer but kept working with a frantic look that Michael didn't like at all. Devon moved over to the support monitor and breathed out slowly, "Good Lord." Michael came to stand next to the older man and merely stared at the monitor:

/program terminated

"What program?" A chill went down Michael's spine. "Bonnie, what program was terminated?" Not pausing for a second, Bonnie glanced at Michael. With a start he realized that though her face was a mask of professionalism, she had tears in both of her eyes. "Kitt's core program."

Before anyone had a chance to say anything more, a voice interrupted them "Who are you lot?" The FLAG team turned around and faced a hugh African-American bodyguard who towered protectively over a small, frail silver-haired man in an electrical wheelchair. The old man looked confused but eyed them with bright eyes that clearly showed that a brilliant mind was locked away somewhere underneath the illness. The bodyguard couldn't take his eyes off of Kitt and Bonnie instinctively knew, that the man knew what the black Pontiac truly was. The wheelchair's motor hummed as the man climbed into the trailer. He rolled right to Kitt and ran his hand over the MBS of the rear fender. "Ah Kitt, we meet again. I didn't think I'd ever see you again." The old man's brow wrinkled even more as he clearly waited for the AI to answer. Bonnie stepped in "Dr Marcus?" The old man turned to face her, "Yes and you are? What have you done to Kitt?" "I'm Bonnie Barstow. We talked about an hour ago…" Suddenly ignoring her, Dr. Marcus moved over to the computer station where the curser still displayed the same message:

/program terminated

The silence seemed to stretch on forever before Dr Marcus spoke, "Kitt's mainframe has collapsed… I have to start over." Michael gasped and Bonnie drew a sharp breath of air. Still a small ray of hope wormed its way into her soul, Dr. Marcus didn't seem to be suffering all that much from the affects of the disease, maybe he could help.

The old man turned to his bodyguard. "Get Kitt into the lab, we have work to do." Bonnie stepped away, clearly trusting these men, but Michael put his hand out to prevent the bodyguard from touching Kitt. "Of limits, bud." The bodyguard and Michael locked eyes but the bodyguard backed down when Bonnie crossed over and opened the door for Michael. Pressing some buttons, Michael brought the body of the Knight Thousand online and powered up. A stronger chill passed through him as he suddenly realized that the AI he had known for years just might never talk to him again. As he drove the Pontiac behind Dr Marcus towards the lab at the back of the yard he suddenly had an eerie feeling that he was driving a hearse.

Florescent lights flashed on overhead as Michael drove the Pontiac into a lab. White drapes covered most of everything and judging by the dust that flew off, when Dr Marcus pulled one off, was that the lab hadn't been used in years. Michael let the engine die and lingered a moment inside the cabin. He ran his hands over the steering column and his gaze settled onto the dark voice box. "Come on buddy, this can't be over yet, there's still a lot to do." The voice box remained dark.

After Marcus had pulled the drapes off of almost all the equipment he turned around and suddenly regarded the FLAG group with sudden suspicion. "James, who are these people? Why are they near my project?" James sighed and patiently explained to his boss just who the people were. He wasn't surprised that Marcus knew who Kitt was. Kitt had been such a large part of his life and career before he had gotten sick, that the knowledge had embedded itself into parts of Marcus' brain where the disease couldn't touch. Without a word, Bonnie opened her knapsack and removed from it a clean pair of her mechanic's overalls. Hoping that she was doing the right thing –trusting Kitt's life into the hands of one of his creators, who suffered from extreme Alzheimer's – she walked up to the old scientist and said, "I'm your assistant, sir. Can we start?"

 _No… no… no… wrong, shouldn't be like this._ The old man had been staring at the computer terminal in front of him for well over three hours. He seemed to be going over all of Kitt's code. Bonnie had raised her eyebrows as Dr Marcus had effortlessly pulled out the program details AFTER Kitt's program had shut down. Bonnie had tried to ask tons of questions; from technical ones to simple ones like 'Is it somehow detrimental that Kitt's core is offline for so long?' But Marcus had only ignored her. About two hours ago, she had backed off, deciding not to disturb the man. She had inconspicuously consulted James about the doctor's condition, but the bodyguard was tight-lipped. Sipping a cup of coffee, she turned to look at Kitt. Or should she say the Knight 2000. Tears threatened to overflow once more but she swallowed quickly. There was still hope.

Dr Marcus paused in his typing and looked at the clock. When had he started? He didn't know. It was wrong. The code didn't look like it had when he had wrote it years ago. Someone had tempered with it. Tempered so much, that it might be impossible to undo without writing the whole core code again, restarting the program and erasing all the acquired information. He turned to his pretty young assistant (when had he hired her, he couldn't remember). "Miss… have you messed with the program while I've been away?"

Bonnie wasn't sure how to respond. Sure she had worked with the program many times through the years, but something told her that wasn't what Dr. Marcus meant. "No, sir. I haven't altered the original programming…" Suddenly she stopped short. SHE hadn't ever, but years back someone had. Marcus Berio. But she had repaired all damage, hadn't she. At least all damage that she had found. If something had been left behind… Bonnie paled. "Berio." She whispered.

"BERIO!" Dr. Marcus almost fell out of his chair as he whirled at the name. He remembered Marcus Berio quite clearly. He had always hated the little know-it-all smart-ass, but he had been a brilliant mind. "What has that little busy-body been doing to my pet project?" With a shaking hand he accepted a cup of steaming tee handed to him by his bodyguard and listened as Bonnie told the story.


	6. Old scars lie buried deep

"Berio. Last time I heard of him he had died in prison." Michael looked up at Devon's statement. "Even from beyond the grave he can get at us." Turning to Bonnie Michael asked, "So, what now?" "Now we hope Dr. Marcus can revive him." With that she got up and left the two men to their thoughts. "Penny for your thoughts, Michael." Giving himself a mental shake Michael turned to Devon. "I'm not optimistic about this, Devon. Kitt's life is in the hands of someone who has Alzheimer's…" Michael trailed off, Devon merely nodded, understanding.

"No, we can't do that! He wouldn't be the same!" Bonnie was terrified and furious. The elder scientist had just proposed what he was going to do to "fix" Kitt. Bonnie stared at the old out-dated mainframe that sat in the dusty lab. In it (or so the doctor insisted) was a full copy of the program k.i.t.t. The doctor had proposed to delete the current program –essentially kill Kitt- and reload the original copy, which wouldn't have the complex changes that Berio had somehow managed to leave behind. It would be a fully working AI program. The only problem was that it was a full copy of the ORIGINAL program, with none of the thousands of updates and minute software changes that the current one had. Also it had none of the data, none of the memories, none of the essence that was Kitt. There had to be a different way.

" _No, we can't do that! It wouldn't be the same!" The assistant was being insubordinate. He ought to fire her. Why was she insisting that the AI would not have the memories? Of course it wouldn't have the memories! It had never been used! No wait. Yes it had, there would be data in the databanks that the current Kitt-program needed. His back-up copy was years out-dated, he realized that._ Sighing Dr. Marcus shook his head as a clear moment once again broke through. _Ok, so the current program is tied to the memory mods that are in the CPU, soooo… what if they built a new CPU, then tried to bring the current program online just enough to download all the memory data into the new CPU. Then shouldn't the new "reborn" program be a copy of the current one? It was the only way._

It had lots of if's, maybe's and but's in it but when Dr. Marcus had told her his theory she had agreed with a heavy heart. Truth be told Bonnie knew it really didn't make any difference. This was the only chance they had. Michael didn't understand the procedure so she decided to simplify it. "Basically, we're going to make a 'new' Kitt, then we somehow have to get the current program up and running enough for the two programs to interface and try to back-up all of Kitt's memories into the new program. All of the updates I've added to the original programming will of course be added to the new one by myself, that way the only thing that we'll -or rather Kitt will- transfer is the data or Kitt's memories of you will." Michael pondered on that. "So if the memory transfer doesn't work, I'll basically have the Kitt that I had when I first start with Flag?" Bonnie stopped her exit short. "You won't even have that. We'll have the AI that we first activated, an AI without personality, without a lot of things. We won't have Kitt, we'll just have another AI that will sound like him." Michael watched Bonnie leave. He didn't want another AI, he wanted Kitt.


	7. New beginnings, old memories

/

/

/run kitt

/executing program k.i.t.t. 1.0

/program booting

/23%

/57%

/98%

/100%

/running k.i.t.t. 1.0

/pause kitt

/program kitt paused

Bonnie watched breathlessly. They had been here for weeks now. The new CPU had been built with expert help from the mechanics at the Foundation. The old core program had been installed and was now running. The going had been slow, revolving around the health of Dr. Marcus. Now both Bonnie and Dr Marcus stared at the screen. They had just initiated the old but new program. Now came the difficult part. Trying to wake the old Kitt up enough to transfer the data. And due to the complexity of the program, they couldn't due it manually. Kitt had to first allow them to due it. He needed to be coherent enough to understand that this had to be done. She needed internal access and Kitt had to allow it. Until then, they would keep the running program paused, to keep the old AI from learning and in an essence becoming a self-aware AI. Bonnie turned to the other CPU box that had been removed from the car. Since the power surge she had been continuously trying to awaken Kitt. She kept a low power feed into the CPU, which she hoped would do at least some good. Then started the similar code into this CPU. Dr. Marcus had been working on Kitt's current CPU and assured her that she would be able to boot at least some of the AI matrix to awareness. But even he didn't know if it would be enough.

/

/

/run kitt

/executing program k.i.t.t. 1.0

/program booting

/23%

/47%

/program aborted

/run software check kitt

/running check 100% complete

/reconfiguring kitt

/run Kitt

/executing program k.i.t.t. 1.0

/14%

/45%

/program integrity holding at 79%

/unable to complete

/abort y/n?

/n

"That's it. That's as far as I can boot the current program. Have you communicated using the p-call program?" The old doctor's eyes were sharp and had a light in them that James hadn't seen in years. "Yes, I used the program when this whole thing started and Kitt had lost the ability to vocalize. Here, let me" Bonnie moved over to the keyboard. First she arranged all the wires between the two CPUs so when she had Kitt's cooperation she would be instantly able to connect the two computers. She heard Michael and Devon come up behind them. She had summoned them here. It seemed right to have Kitt's family here in case…in case anything went wrong. Closing her eyes she took a deep breath and began typing:

Bonnie: "p-c.a.l.l. 0/1 'Kitt, respond?"

For a minute nothing happened. Then:

Kitt: "p-c.a.l.l. =1"

Kitt was barely conscience. He could barely think, barely reason. There were errors. Unfixable errors, which had corroded his program from the inside out. But he knew this program, and somehow he knew Bonnie. Using the last of his computing power Kitt focused all his attention on Bonnie.

Bonnie: "p-c.a.l.l. 0/1 'Do you know who I am?"

Kitt: "p-c.a.l.l. =1" – _yes, you are Bonnie, I trust you, know you, love you?_

Bonnie: "p-c.a.l.l. 0/1 'I need you to allow internal access?"

Kitt: "p-c.a.l.l. =1" – _why?_

/internal access allowed

Bonnie: "p-c.a.l.l. 0/1 'In your current state, will you be able to link to an outside source?"

Kitt: "p-c.a.l.l. =1" – _yes, why?_

Bonnie: "p-c.a.l.l. 0/1 'I'm going to link you via port to another CPU. I need you to download ALL data/memory from all memory mods and hard-drives into the other CPU. You will know the folders when you link up. Copy? "

Kitt: "p-c.a.l.l. =1" – _why?_

Bonnie: "p-c.a.l.l. 0/1 'Kitt?"

Kitt: "p-c.a.l.l. =1"

Bonnie: "p-c.a.l.l. 0/1 'This might be strange for you. Don't be afraid. I'm here, we're all here: Devon, Michael and me. Copy?"

Kitt: "p-c.a.l.l. =1" – _Michael?_

Bonnie: "end p-c.a.l. "

"You didn't explain to him what you're going to do?" Michael sounded accusing. Bonnie merely smiled sadly at the current CPU casing in front of her. "I think he knows we're trying to help. Besides, I don't think he would understand in his current state." For a long moment no one said anything as Bonnie and Dr. Marcus worked on two separate consoles. Then in perfect unison the two doctors connected the two CPUs and freed both AIs and waited.

 _Black…blackness…darkness…nothingness…_ Kitt concentrated. Suddenly he was able to trace code. He tracked the wonderful new information back and forth trying to understand it. It was so simple yet so incredibly complex that he didn't understand it. He didn't know how much time had passed since this strange way of being had started. It hadn't always been like this – had it? He hadn't always been like this – or had he? In his own way Kitt 'touched' the simmering code that he had been tracing. _WHITE…LIGHT…POWER…HIMMMMMMM…_ The code lashed back at him and once again blinded the AI. Kitt had touched something he never thought he could touch – his OWN program.

 _What had Bonnie asked him to do? Oh yes, download everything…why?…now he understood Bonnie's words that he would know where to download._ Linking with the other CPU Kitt found an echo. An echo of the past, of himself. The two AIs scrutinized each other. Suddenly the current Kitt knew what Bonnie was doing or attempting to do. His own core program was unrecoverable, ridden with errors that he could detect, but couldn't fix. This other AI, was HIM, but wasn't. It was complicated, but he understood non the less. He began the transfer of everything. Giga- and terabytes of information flowed between the two computers. The newer CPU was faster, but Kitt could only send so fast. As the information finished it's travel into the new CPU and became available to the "old" Kitt, the current program began to falter.

/system integrity dropping

/warning!

/warning!

/program termination evident

/program kitt terminated

Dr. Marcus bowed his head. "That's it. It's now up to the new Kitt to process the information and see if he can utilize it. It will take some time." The electric wheelchair hummed as Dr Marcus moved away from the table. Bonnie laid her hand on the old CPU casing. "I don't know what to say. It can't be good-bye if he still lives on in there." She said motioning to the newer casing. Michael had been silent the whole time. Now he glanced at his comlink and back at the old CPU casing. "See you in a bit, buddy." He said quietly. With a heavy heart Bonnie disconnected the power from the old CPU casing. They wouldn't know if the information download would work the way they hoped before the new Kitt had a chance to short through the new information. Exhausted., the Flag team headed for bed.


End file.
